Case study: Confidence in Ethernet IEC 61850 virtual wiring via innovative new testing and verification practices

While switched Ethernet is emerging as a communications network of choice, network topologies vary widely with no established industry practice. This situation is further complicated by the wide variety of power system applications, ranging from systems internal to industrial facilities up to critical high-voltage (HV) and extra-high-voltage (EHV) transmission systems. The use of digital communication, including IEC 61850 Generic Object-Oriented Substation Event (GOOSE), on these switched Ethernet networks has created opportunities to eliminate hard-wired copper terminations to exchange status values among intelligent electronic devices (IEDs). Global experience demonstrates that over 50 percent of copper terminations, associated cost and labor, and opportunities for mistakes are eliminated via the use of digital communication among peer IEDs. This paper discusses the methods developed to document and test the virtual wiring, which replace traditional wiring drawings and end-to-end continuity testing. Discussion of the evolution of best engineering practices based on experiences from numerous installed systems provides valuable insight for testing, commissioning, and maintaining routable Ethernet networks using one or more of the IEC 61850 protocols for peer-to-peer data exchange.